Digital Literacy - Is Your Sales Team Up to Date?

The world of sales has drastically changed in the last 30 years. Thanks to a wave of technological innovations, salespeople no longer have to initiate conversations through the use of cold calls alone, creating more rapport and stronger relationships. Technology has transformed the sales experience, and having a team that is digitally literate is the key to success. But how can you know if your sales department is up to date with modern techniques? Here are three ways for you to see whether your employees are digitally literate.

The Understanding of Your Team

Understanding your team should be your starting point. Find out how your sales people initiate a conversation, try to steer them away from networking and encourage them to further familiarise themselves with those they interact with. Ask them about the industry and your company’s role in it. Look into how they build their own brand, both on a personal and professional level. Let your salespeople tell you which KPI’s they believe are the most important to measure their performance. Through these steps you will be able to understand your workforce on various levels, and see if they align with your company’s philosophy and values.

The Understanding the Sales Process

As obvious as it may sound, it is essential for your team to understand the totality of the sales process before anything else. Too many people in sales are still unsure about the stages of the process. In order to assess whether your employees understand it, ask them to explain their individual process and how comfortable they are in leading all aspects of it. Ask them to explain which parts of the process they are most excited about and those in which they have seen the most success. See if they are able to incorporate techniques and strategies from other departments such as marketing. These points will reveal where your team stands in regards to your organisation’s business model.

The Understanding and Implementation of Digital Skills

Once you have understood your team’s identity and their work process, it is time to focus on their digital literacy. There is no lack of options when it comes to technology that assist salespeople. But does your team use them? Ask your sales professionals what their digital skills are and what tools do they use to perform better. Find out the apps and websites that they incorporate in their sales process in order to gather information to monitor and engage. Do they maximise the potential of each digital tool? For example, do they use essential platforms such as LinkedIn efficiently? Making the most out of the digital tools available can help your team perform, making sure they are used well will have a huge impact on your business.

By asking these questions and looking into the skills and understanding of your team, you will be able to optimise your business performance, all while discovering what weaker points to work on for your team to improve.